Thursday, December 10, 2009

“Medi-Vac Helicopter Crashes in Northern California Killing Three” by Todd Slaughter tells of a air ambulance helicopter that crashed killing the entire crew, as these helicopters may be dangerous they are an essential part of many medical emergency and save many lives every day. It is very unfortunate that this crew died in a crash but they knew the dangers of their chosen profession. If we learn anything from this crash it is to thank those who serve in air ambulances. In Colorado there are two main Helicopter Emergency Medical Serves (HEMS) and both have amazing safety records. AirLIfe Denver and Flight for Life Colorado both operate in Colorado and fly through the very deadly and unforgiving rocky mountains. Between the two companies and over 62 years (Flight for Life being the oldest medi-vac helicopter service) of service there has only been one crash. Over the years these two organizations have saved thousands of lives. When taking these considerations in Air Ambulances are an amazing tool and a life saving machine.

“In an instant, these people became everyday heroes” from CNN tells of various people who acted quickly and intelligently to save stranger’s lives, the people in need of help wouldn’t of survived unless these people acted in the brave manner they did. One of the examples in this article is about an off duty Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) who dove into a freezing pond to save a woman who drove her van into the pond. Many people think that the fire department is the only source of heroism, but sometimes it is just the average stranger that will save somebody in their “hour of need.” Most of these people do not wish to be called heroes because they feel that anybody would have done what they did. It is a good feeling thinking that anybody would risk their life to save another’s but it is not necessarily true. The people who do run into a fire when everybody else is running out are special people that should be recognized as heroes.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

“Boy 'Clinging to Life' After Two-Day Search” by CBC news tells of a seven year old autistic child who went missing for a night, this is important because this sort of emergency shouldn't ever happen. The boy apparently followed his dog 1.3 miles away from his home where he became lost the woods. Autism a defect that slows people’s thinking. This boy was not ready to spend a night out sleeping on top of snow. Luckily, Hailfax Regional Search and Rescue found the boy and called in EHS LifeFlight to medivac the child to a hospital. Paramedics report that the child was severely hypothermic and they were lucky to find the child in the time they did. However this search mission was totally avoidable. In Colorado there is a program called Colorado Life Track (COLT) program where patients with autism or Alzheimer's wear wrist bands that send out a radio tracking signal that can be traced by SAR teams. COLT is used by various teams such as Arapahoe Rescue Patrol and Summit County Sheriff’s Office. The average time between a COLT call and a rescue is only 30 minuets instead of the 24 hours that this boy had to survive.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

“Counting Blessings” from the Today show tells a story of a man who was trapped for six days and was forced to cut off his own arm to survive, this shows how people can come to great lengths to survive. The man was climbing a canyon when his arm was trapped by a massive bolder. The climber admits to having a vision of a child that he assumed was his. The man also says that this image of a child was what got him through the tough actions he had to do. This is not the only story where people have had images or internal motivations that give them the will to survive. There will always be incredible stories of survival.

“Airmen aid in search for stranded hiker” by the U.S. Air Force official website shows how the U.S.A.F is not just a branch of the military but also an organization to help people, especially in Search and Rescue operations. The man was hiking in a remote area in Arizona, when he became lost. Just before his phone ran out of batteries the hiker made a 911 phone call. The call cut out and was not able to be traced by the 911 operators. When the 911 operators were not able to trace the phone call the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) was called to trace the phone call. The professional airmen were able to track the phone call down to a 1square mile area. The AFRCC was able to call a police helicopter to search the small area for the hiker. The helicopter found the man very quickly since they had such a small area to search. The main point of the article is that the Air Force helps people as well as defending American Freedoms.

Monday, December 7, 2009

The Article “Hospital Refused to Assist Heart Attack Victim in Parking Lot” by the Canadian Press tells of a situation where a man had an angina in the hospital’s parking lot and the hospital made him call 911 instead of just helping him themselves, this in some cases can be a life or death situation. The 80 year old man had a very life threatening condition, but the hospital refused to help him instead his wife was forced to call an ambulance from across the street to remove the man from his car and carry him only 30 yards inside. This may sound ridiculous to some but there is some reasoning behind nurses and doctors not being able to leave the hospital to help somebody. Removing a patient from a vehicle can be a dangerous task, which sometimes results in even more injuries for the patient, the paramedics and EMT’s were called simply because they had skills and training at removing a patient form cars. This case however is a little different, the man was having a cardiac problem (later discovered as an Angina) a serious illness but not necessarily always life threatening. Most hospitals do employ EMT’s to help out with problems similar to this but it seems that this hospital did not have any such professionals. In conclusion it can be life threatening for patients to be so close to hospitals yet not in reach, that is why hospital EMT’s are so important.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

In the article “Deep Survival with Laurence Gonzales$earch + Rescue: Should Victims Pay,” by Adventure Travel tells of how it is a rising problem that some Search and Rescue (SAR) Teams are starting to charge for their services, this creates problems for both the SAR personnel and the victims. Many SAR teams are starting to charge for searches. Many of the victims that Search and Rescue teams help do not have the money to pay for a $25,000+ mission. Infact some lost hikers try to avoid these teams when they know they are being searched for. Search and Rescue missions are complicated and hard enough to conduct when the victim wants to be found, but when they start avoiding the rescue personnel they become impossible. In Colorado it is a written agreement between the state and The Colorado Search and Rescue Board (CSARB) that no SAR team will ever charge any victim. Most American and all Colorado SAR teams are solely based on volunteers and either get small amounts of money from their county or work very hard for donations. In conclusion it is not an option to charge for Search and Rescue operations because it makes everything harder for SAR personnel and the victims, plus it is not fair for the victim.

Monday, November 30, 2009

The video “Man trapped in cave after 26 hours dies.” tells of a failed rescue attempt for a man who was trapped in a extremely cramped cave, this is important because it shows that people need to be careful wherever they are. The man was exploring a very tight cave when he fell down in crevasse and became stuck. To access the cave people have to crawl on their bellies. This was definitely a very dangerous place to be. Rescuers got to the man but it was so cramped that a rescue rope system had to be installed in the cave. While attempting to move the man millimeters at a time, the bolt that set the rescue pulley failed and the man fell back into the crevasse. After 26 hours rescue technicians were finally able to pronounce the man dead. Now however there is still puzzlement as to how the body will be recovered. The only option was the one being used, and that is no longer an option.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

“Wisconsin Bill Offers Mandatory Protection for Volunteers” by Rick Benedict tells of a Bill that would allow volunteer first responders to be excused from work, its important that volunteer first responders don’t have to worry about losing a job while on a call. There are thousands of volunteer first responders in the U.S. and all have other jobs. Bosses of these volunteers most of the time don’t like seeing there workers leave to go on a call and will often fire their employers. The bill being proposed will let volunteers leave work “unpaid leave” work for calls. This bill would benefit first responders greatly because they wouldn’t have to worry about work and that wouldn’t be a factor for workers. Also this could recruit more volunteers or retired volunteers who could now commit to the first responder job.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

In the article “The Pen may be mightier than the keyboard,” by Joel Shawrz tells of a study comparing the effectiveness of the pen and the keyboard, this is important because the world is making a switch from pen to keyboard. The article states that the mind learns letters better by creating the letter instead of pushing a button with the letter on it. With the recent worldwide transition to the keyboard this could be bad news for learning students. Whatever ends up happening it is important for young students to learn the letters by writing them before they start typing them.

“Cross Country Snowboard,” by Macamara666, is a video of a new sport of “cross country snowboarding” this is important because it shows how some people will go against the main stream and try something new. This video relates to the quote from Robert Kennedy, “some see things as they are and ask why; I dream things that will never be and dream, why not.” Kennedy relates to Joel and Tate from the cross country snowboarding video because they dream of a sport that will probably never be, but they ask; why not cross country on a snowboard. Joel and Tate don’t care what everybody thinks of them, they only care about what they are doing, and that is a characteristic everybody can respect.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

“Google’s Advice to Students: “Keep Learning,”” from the official Google blog tells students how to succeed, to keep learning, this is important because it can be a mindset for life. There are many adults that believe once they are into their career they can just stop learning. Google makes a great point that if you wake up every day and try to learn something new, you will. There is a lot of information in this world just waiting to be learned, and just because you graduate school you aren’t done.

“Masked, armed robbers stick-up Springs eatery,” by Kieran Nicholson tells of a armed robbery that took place in Colorado Springs, this is important because it has been a method for criminals to commit centuries. for decades. Armed robbery has been a method for centuries that criminals use to obtain property while using a weapon. There have been many different generations of criminals ranging from the cowboys to during The Great Depression when John Dillinger stole from the banks. The point is that this same brutal method has been used and worked for hundreds of years. Law enforcement agencies and have tried to stop armed robbery by creating elite teams designed to stop the robberies like SWAT, and property owners have take steps to alert the Police if a robbery is taking place by using defenses like silent alarms. Even with all these technological advancements hooded men are still marching into banks and businesses demanding money, and getting away. If we really want to stop these crimes we need prevent it from the source somehow instead of just trying to stop the crimes once they happen.

Friday, October 30, 2009

“Footprints in the Digital Age,” by Will Richardson tells about how students find things out on their own instead of being taught them, this is important because learning this way doesn’t allow any room for error. Students hear about social networking sites by their friends and automatically join, instead of doing some research on their own. This similar to drinking an unknown liquid that a friend gave them without trying to figure out what the liquid is or if it is dangerous. A lot of the time the new idea or in this case a website will be passed around very quickly without any tests done by any users. The point is that there is nothing wrong with joining a new networking site, but it is wrong to join because your friends are doing it without any research.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

“Pilot fired after alcohol test seeks reinstatement” by The Associated Press tells of a Frontier Airlines pilot who was fired after alcohol tests came back positive, this is important because just like drunk drivers, drunk pilots are not very skilled. Aviation is a big fear for many people, although driving in a car is more dangerous than flying in a jet, the idea of leaving the ground and being a mile above the ground scares many people. The reason flying is safer than driving is because pilots are very skilled and get a lot of practice at their profession, but that practice counts for nothing when a pilot is under the influence of alcohol. Landing a plane is a very difficult maneuver and is almost always done by a skilled professional. When it comes to aviation people pay very much for a scary experience, so there is no room for error or a drunken pilot.

Fort Collins parents face felony charges in 'balloon boy" case by Kirk Mitchell explains how the parents of the “balloon boy,” are being charged with felony for providing false information to authorities. The parents have in the past acted on reality TV shows and from their past sounds like they are craving for publicity. It is a crime punishable by law to lie to an authority and provide false information. In this case the fine will be very large. When a real emergency is present authorities are required to help and it is free to the victim. When a false report is given to the do authorities they charge for the help they give. The Heene family will most likely have a lot to pay back to the emergency services for the help they provided, this will probably be very expensive considering a United States Air National Guard Blackhawk helicopter was scrambled to help pursuit the “runaway balloon”.

In Karl Fisch’s video “2020 Vision,” he acts as if he is a speaker at a high school graduation in the year 2020, this is important because it predicts the future of learning. The video summarizes how education has changed from the year 2007 to 2020. In the 13 years much has changed, Google is as powerful as a country and education has changed entirely. Instead of going class to class students bring their own laptop and go through courses on their specific interests. Some of the students even stay at home and learn without ever leaving their room. According to the video the learning experience is in depth on the specific subject the pupil is interested in.

Monday, October 12, 2009

“Educational Leadership” “Tony Wagner” talks about how it is more important for teachers to teach the material so students understand it, instead of teaching it so they can pass a test. I can really connect to this article. Last year in Spanish 1 I did not understand most of the material. Instead of aiming to understand the language I aimed to get a passing grade in the class so I could move into Spanish 2 in high school. I did get the passing grade and my teacher agreed that if I passed her class I could move into Spanish 2 in high school. When the year started I quickly realized that it wasn’t enough to pass the class but it was necessary to understand the language to move up in the class. This relates to “Educational Leadership” because it is proof that teachers are teaching so their students get good grades instead of understanding the material.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Because most people don’t realize that soldiers do good deeds, and don’t just fight and kill, Tech. Sgt. Kerry Jackson of the 13th Air Force Public Affairs wrote an important article called “Airmen restore Vietnamese clinic during Pacific Angel” about a team of Air Force engineers rebuilding and repairing a medical clinic in Vietnam. Many people don’t give the troops respect for those fighting and dying so that regular people can sleep safely in their beds at night. These people sometimes even call the troops awful names like “baby killer.” Well, Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, and Sailors don’t just defend freedom; they also help people. There are many squadrons of different types of troops that are devoted strictly to saving lives, such as the Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers or the Air Force Combat Search and Rescue Teams. Not all of these soldiers help people in action. Some build houses, or like the engineer team mentioned in the article, build hospitals and clinics for underprivileged people. It does not surprise me that the same people who claim to hate the troops don’t even realize that they are also helping people and probably doing more good than the people who are doing the whining.

In Dr. Wesch’s video “A Vision of Students Today” shows that education is important. The video tells various facts from students like the fact they complete more hours of activities a day than there are hours in a day due to multi-tasking. The students also tell that many of their professors don’t know their name let alone the fact that they are in their class.If teachers don’t even know who is in their class how are they possibly going to give the student the help he or she needs?

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

“Predator Crash in Central Iraq” from the Air Force.mil website shows that how we treat war is important. The article tells of USAF unmanned aircraft crashing in the middle of Iraq. With all the recent advancements in technology machines have become a regular part of the United States military. Robots of war are everywhere, in the air, on land, and even at sea. All of these war tools are connected in many ways, the most important, they all use the internet.

I recently viewed a video that showed many easy ways to “hack” people’s computers, webcams, and printers. None of these “hacks” were more complicated than simply searching a code on Google. If anyone can do these simple “hacks” imagine what the expert “hacker” can do to a computer, or a robot of war.

I know that the military tools are protected by the best computer geniuses, but where ever there is a will there is a way. The bottom line is that we need to be very careful about how we use robots and the internet in general to protect us.

Monday, September 14, 2009

“What Did You Create Today?” by Will Richardson shows that how students treat school is what is important. For most students school is just about getting through the day, spending time with friends, or complaining about homework. Many students don’t understand that the things they learn in school are the same things that will use in real life. Will Richardson’s children were transferring to a new school he decided to get his children to focus on the more important part of school, education. If students would concentrate more on their education, school just might get better for them.

Clive Thompson’s “New Literacy,” shows that the technological revolution is not a bad thing; it just needs to be looked at in a positive way. In the last generation people would grow up writing in school, but not after they graduated. Today, with all the advancements in technology and the use of text in most of that technology, people have a lot more motivation to write, and write correctly. Students will continue to text, Facebook, and Twitter, improving their literacy skills while doing so.

Monday, September 7, 2009

The video “The Machine is Using Us” by Dr. Wesch shows that how we treat the internet is important. When we post anything on the internet, we are supplying new information that a computer can learn. This sounds innocent enough, but recently many (if not all) countries are using the internet militarily. If we continue to teach computers new and mostly false information every time we make a post or upload a video, the internet could someday use the information in a bad way. In the movie “Stealth,” a computer-controlled warplane learns how to misbehave and goes to Russia attempting to destroy a target that it learned about from a fictional source. This is not necessarily what is going to happen, but if Dr. Wesch is right, we need to be careful about what we put on the World Wide Web.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

“Thornton motorcyclist dies in crash” from the Denver Post shows that safety is what is important. Unfortunately, today a 48 year old man died in a motorcycle accident. The Thornton man was not wearing a helmet when his bike hit a curb and he was launched through the air and received a head injury that led to his death. This is very unfortunate because had this man been wearing a helmet he might have survived. In cars the law is very strict by making people wear seatbelts. On motorcycles, however there is no seat belt, therefore some riders wear helmets, but it is not required by law. The government decided it would give bikers the freedom to choose but sometimes that can be very sad when people do no chose wisely.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

“Women Raise bar at Colleges” by Tamar Lewin shows that men need to take schooling more seriously and that everyone’s education is what is important. Guys need to step it up and at least make the numbers fifty- fifty between boys and girls. For years the average family was funded by the father who goes to work every day, with the mother staying home and being with the children. Recently however, it seems that both the mother and the father go to work during the day in many families. If the men in our world slowly start to take schooling less and less seriously, the roles in a family may change. I am not saying that is necessarily a bad thing but that may change the world.

This change in men not trying hard enough may change many things for us (men). If colleges want to keep their balances of half men and half women they will want to let more guys in, in term being easier for a guy to get into college. This will also effect education because if girls are more likely to go to college then schools will concentrate on girls more because they might think the girls will be worth their time.

In conclusion, men need to take school more statistically, but for everyone the situation is different but the need to succeed is essential.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

I thought that "Did You Know?" by Karl Ficsh was very important because it showed how the world is changing and many people don't even realize it. Before I saw this movie I thought America was the leader in every global aspect, but now I realize that we are in a tough race with other countries to succeed in the information revolution. I could hardly believe that one in eight married couples met online. The facts that this movie showed are unbelievable and need to be taken seriously.